Battistello v. East 51st Street Development Co.

24 Misc. 3d 858, 886 N.Y.S.2d 791
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedMay 12, 2009
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 24 Misc. 3d 858 (Battistello v. East 51st Street Development Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Battistello v. East 51st Street Development Co., 24 Misc. 3d 858, 886 N.Y.S.2d 791 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2009).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Karen S. Smith, J.

This motion by defendant New York Crane & Equipment Corporation (hereafter NY Crane) for an order pursuant to CPLR 3211 (a) (7) dismissing those portions of plaintiffs’ complaint relating to emotional injuries and nuisance is granted in part and denied in part, as discussed more fully below. As the cross motions by defendants Reliance Construction Ltd., doing business as RCG Group, sued herein as Reliance Construction Group and RCG Group, Inc. (hereafter Reliance), and East 51st Street Development Company, LLC (hereafter East 51st) seek the same relief on the same grounds as NY Crane’s motion, they are also granted in part and denied in part, as provided more fully below.

This action arises from an accident that occurred on March 15, 2008, when a crane involved in construction at 303 East 51st Street, New York, New York, collapsed, portions of which came into contact with nearby buildings. The plaintiffs were each tenants of the building located at 300 East 51st Street, New York, New York,1 which suffered structural damage as a result of the crane collapse.

NY Crane, who leased the subject crane to Joy Contractors, Inc., now moves, pre-answer, to dismiss those portions of plaintiffs’ complaint which purport to state a cause of action for emotional injuries and for nuisance, pursuant to CPLR 3211 (a) (7), for failure to state a cause of action. NY Crane contends that plaintiffs cannot recover for their alleged “severe emotional distress” because (1) while there is a bare allegation that [860]*860plaintiffs were in the “zone of danger,” none of the plaintiffs observed a family member’s death or serious injury, and (2) negligent destruction of property cannot support a claim for emotional injuries, and plaintiffs have failed to allege any physical injuries. NY Crane also argues that plaintiffs cannot recover for emotional injuries, in part, because any such injuries are alleged to be consequential in nature. In addition, NY Crane argues that plaintiffs have not sufficiently pleaded a cause of action for nuisance, where they have merely listed it as a form of damage suffered.

Reliance cross-moves, also seeking an order dismissing those portions of plaintiffs’ complaint which purport to state a cause of action for emotional injuries and for nuisance, pursuant to CPLR 3211 (a) (7). According to Reliance, plaintiffs have failed to make any allegation that Reliance’s actions specifically endangered them physically or caused them to fear for their own safety. Nor have plaintiffs, according to Reliance, alleged any intentional conduct upon which a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress could lie. While plaintiff Hayes asserts in the complaint that she was within the “zone of danger,” as NY Crane points out, there are no allegations that she witnessed the death or serious injury of a family member, thereby precluding recovery under a “zone of danger” theory. Also like NY Crane, Reliance contends that none of the plaintiffs can recover emotional injury damages based on property damage alone, and none state a cause of action for nuisance.

East 51st also cross-moves for an order dismissing those portions of plaintiffs’ complaint which purport to state a cause of action for emotional injuries and for nuisance, pursuant to CPLR 3211 (a) (7). East 51st adopts the arguments set forth by NY Crane and Reliance and argues that in order to recover, each plaintiff must allege that she was on the premises at the time of the crane collapse and either (1) suffered a consequential physical manifestation of emotional distress as a result, or (2) witnessed the death or serious injury of a family member. Plaintiffs here, according to East 51st, have not so alleged.

Plaintiffs oppose the motion and two cross motions. As an initial matter, plaintiffs clarify that the use of the word “nuisance” in the complaint was not intended to state a cause of action, but rather was included merely as a descriptive word to amplify the experience of plaintiffs after the collapse occurred. As plaintiffs have not pleaded a cause of action for nuisance, and there is no separate set of damages described as [861]*861“nuisance” nor any other legally operative purpose for the language to be included in the complaint, it must be stricken from the complaint.

As to the remainder of defendants’ arguments, plaintiffs argue they have sufficiently pleaded compensable noneconomic damages. In opposition to the motion and cross motions, plaintiffs also submit an affidavit by Kathleen Tompkins, and the testimony of Margery Jane Bonia taken by defendant City of New York pursuant to General Municipal Law § 50-h for the court’s consideration. Plaintiffs contend that they need not allege physical injury or physical manifestation of their emotional injuries in order to properly plead a cause of action; nor, they argue, must they allege that plaintiffs witnessed the death or serious physical injury of a family member, as defendants contend. Rather, according to plaintiffs, they may recover for severe emotional injuries that flow from defendants’ breach, including but not limited to fear, panic and other attendant emotional injury caused by being on the premises (or in the “zone of danger”) at the time of the collapse, and also for emotional distress directly caused by the aftermath of the crane collapse.

In deciding a motion brought pursuant to CPLR 3211 (a) (7) for failure to state a cause of action, the complaint should be liberally construed and the facts alleged in the complaint and any submissions in opposition to the dismissal motion accepted as true, according plaintiffs the benefit of every possible favorable inference. (511 W. 232nd Owners Corp. v Jennifer Realty Co., 98 NY2d 144, 152 [2002].) “The motion must be denied if from the pleadings’ four corners ‘factual allegations are discerned which taken together manifest any cause of action cognizable at law.’ ” (Id.) Affidavits submitted in support of a motion to dismiss are considered “only for the limited purpose of determining whether the plaintiff has stated a claim, not whether he has one and, in the absence of proof that an alleged material fact is untrue or beyond significant dispute,” the court must not grant the motion. (Wall St. Assoc. v Brodsky, 257 AD2d 526, 526-527 [1st Dept 1999].)

It is well established that one who sustains physical injuries as a result of a tortfeasor’s negligence may recover for attendant pain and suffering, both physical and mental. Actions predicated on emotional injuries alone were long treated with suspicion in this state, and no cause of action for “negligent infliction of emotional distress” would lie. However, more than [862]*86250 years ago, in affirming a jury’s award for defendant doctors’ negligence leading to “cancerphobia,” the Court of Appeals reversed this trend, declaring, “Freedom from mental disturbance is now a protected interest in this State.” (Ferrara v Galluchio, 5 NY2d 16, 21 [1958].) The Court examined the history of the State’s suspicion of claims for emotional distress and determined that “[t]he problem is one of adequate proof, and it is not necessary to deny a remedy in all cases because some claims may be false.” (Id.)

Three years later, in Battalla v State of New York (10 NY2d 237 [1961]), the Court of Appeals applied the principles in Ferrara

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Bluebook (online)
24 Misc. 3d 858, 886 N.Y.S.2d 791, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/battistello-v-east-51st-street-development-co-nysupct-2009.